


(Staring in Your Eyes) Everything Simplifies

by JoshlerFicHoe



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: College AU, Dreams, Dreams and Nightmares, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Cancer, Protective Josh Dun, Slow Build, inspired by the fic "Someone Else's Dreams" by SpookySad, josh dun - Freeform, trigger warning for mentions of suicide/depression, tyler joseph - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-22 00:19:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16587095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoshlerFicHoe/pseuds/JoshlerFicHoe
Summary: Josh knew he was dreaming.He just didn't realize who he was dreaming about.





	1. You Know Who I Am

**Author's Note:**

> Please, tell me who you are.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> A crinkle at the eyes as the stranger smiled again. Then, they whispered, almost inaudibly:
> 
>  
> 
> You know who I am.

Josh knew he was dreaming. 

 

He was inches away from another face, so close that the only thing in his field of view were the stranger’s eyes. They were wide and beautiful, like golden honey. Josh felt himself smile and he watched crinkles form at the corners of the stranger’s eyes as they smiled, too. 

 

He felt a sense of peace and safety that he couldn’t explain. This was the second night in a row he had dreamt this. It seemed as if hours had passed, and the warm gaze never faltered. He watched as, with each blink, the person’s wispy eyelashes fluttered. The blinking was seemingly lethargic, eyelids opening laboriously after being closed for what seemed like forever. He tried to count the eyelashes but was enraptured by the abnormally ethereal way the person’s eyelids hovered over glistening eyes each time they were opened, and he had to keep starting over with the counting. 

 

Josh reached out to touch the face, and the person closed their eyes as his hand made contact. 

 

Soft, so soft. 

 

He dragged his thumb lightly across their eyelashes and felt himself sigh as the eyes opened again, staring fondly at him. 

 

_ Who are you?  _

 

The person just stared at him, blinking slowly, not speaking. Josh felt the person’s hand fall tenderly on top of his, and he continued to stroke the skin of the person’s cheek. 

 

_ Please, tell me who you are.  _

 

A crinkle at the eyes as the stranger smiled again. Then, they whispered, almost inaudibly:

 

_ You know who I am. _

 

Josh’s heart quickened, drumming against his chest at the delicacy of the voice. 

 

_ I-I don’t know. Please. _

 

The eyes had been closed for some time now. Josh let his eyes close, too.

 

*

 

When Josh woke up, he was staring at the ceiling. He glanced at the spot beside him, finding it unsurprisingly empty. Nevertheless, his heart sank a bit. He shuffled onto his side and looked at the glowing red numbers on the clock.

 

**4:12 AM**

 

He groaned slightly, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to fall asleep again. He propped himself up on his elbows and stared across the room begrudgingly at the softly snoring lump underneath the blanket, otherwise known as his roommate, Mark, envious of his blissful slumber. Josh flopped onto his back and thought about the eyes in his dream. He ran through all of the girls in his classes that he could think of. 

 

_ Jenna? No- blue eyes. It could be Hayley, but- no, her eyes are green. What about Debby? _

 

He furrowed his brows. He and Debby had been best friends since they were kids, so it would make sense that it could be her. Still, Josh wasn’t convinced. Sure, Debby was pretty, and he may have had a crush on her at one point, but he would have been able to recognize her eyes. 

 

_ Who the fuck is it? _

 

The eyes didn’t seem familiar to him at all. He couldn’t put a name to them, and it frustrated him. Why would the person say that Josh knew them? 

 

_ What the hell am I saying? It was just a dream. _

 

He peeked at the clock again, praying that somehow, a few hours had passed.

 

**4:21 AM**

 

_ Fuck you, Mark, and your gloriously peaceful sleep. _

 

He decided that sleep was a lost cause at this point and sat up, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed. The room spun and he blinked furiously, willing the vertigo to dissipate. He cursed at himself for sitting up too quickly and, after recovering, stood up slowly and stretched. 

 

He walked over to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face in a feeble attempt to lessen the puffiness underneath his eyes. After quickly brushing his teeth, he pulled on a shirt, a light jacket, and some sneakers, and grabbed his phone and earbuds from his bedside table. It may have been a little early to go out for a run, but Josh didn’t feel like laying in bed until a suitable wake-up time rolled around. Most of all, he didn’t want to be left alone with his thoughts. 

 

The image of glazed over, golden eyes flashed in the back of his mind, and he shivered. Remembering the feeling of the person’s hand on top of his, he dragged his fingertips along his knuckles, mimicking the sensation, and shivered once again. He stole one more look at the clock.

 

**4:40 AM**

 

He put in his earbuds, hit shuffle, and quietly slipped out of the dorm room so as not to wake Mark. Although, the guy could probably sleep through a hurricane without a problem. Josh chuckled to himself at the thought of it.

 

Just as he turned to start walking toward the stairs, he collided with someone, sending them sprawling onto the ground with a thud and a tiny  _ oof _ escaping their mouth. In the process, Josh’s phone was knocked out of his hand and his earbuds ripped from his ears. 

 

“Shit, sorry.” Josh mumbled, startled by the sudden appearance of this person. 

 

“Uh, it’s okay. I should be the one apologizing.” said the boy, who sounded familiar. Josh tried to see who it was, but the person was wearing a jacket with the hood pulled over his head.

 

Josh reached for his phone, but the boy apparently had the same idea, and their hands touched for a brief moment, the boy’s fingertips brushing the Josh’s knuckles. Josh’s breath caught in his throat and he froze. The boy snapped his hand back quickly, as if he had been burned, and Josh fumbled for his phone, stuffing it into his pocket. His hand tingled slightly with the ghost of the boy’s touch. The boy stood up and brushed himself off haphazardly, looking up at Josh fleetingly, but looking back down before Josh could catch a glimpse of his face.

 

“I- um- sorry.” the boy said quickly. He sniffled- was he crying?- and turned abruptly on his heel before walking away briskly, hands in his pockets and shoulders slouched over. 

 

“Weird,” Josh muttered under his breath. He looked at the screen of his phone and saw a small crack in the bottom corner. He slid his finger over it.

 

_ It could be worse, I guess. _

 

He let out a long, breathy sigh before heading out the door the led to the stairs

 

*

 

Josh always felt better after runs. He slowed down and paused to take a minute to breathe, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time.

 

**6:02 AM**

 

Josh figured he should head back to the room and start getting ready for class. It was Friday, his favorite day of the week. Not only because of the promise of the weekend afterward, but because he only had one class, which just happened to be his favorite: art class. 

 

He took a drink of water from a water fountain and began jogging back in the direction of his residence hall. Josh was well into his first semester of college- it was November, and Thanksgiving break would be coming up soon, then before he knew it, it would be time for winter break. He enjoyed school, loved all of his classes (especially art), and was almost saddened at the prospect of having nothing to do over the month-long break. Normally, he would hang out with Debby, but she was flying across the country to visit some boyfriend in California. Josh rolled his eyes at the thought. 

 

He didn’t like this guy that Debby had been seeing, but she seemed happy, so he never brought up his concerns to her. She was an adult now, after all, and knew how to make her own decisions. 

 

Josh hoped so, anyway. 

 

He eventually made it back to the building, and scanned his card to let himself in. He climbed up the steps two at a time and walked into the hallway. As he walked up to his door he fished his room key out of his pocket, before thinking to himself:

 

_ Did I even lock the door? _

 

He tried to remember if he had, but all he could remember was the incident that happened with the boy in the hallway. He decided to test it, and jiggled the handle.

 

Locked. 

 

“Hm. I guess I did remember,” he said, mostly to himself. 

 

He reached out to stick the key into the keyhole, but to his surprise, the key wouldn’t turn. He tried again, a bit more forcefully, but to no avail. Josh removed it, and tried turning the handle once more just to make sure it was actually locked. 

 

Nothing.

 

He stared at the door, perplexed, and decided to try again. He shoved the key in, tried to turn it, but was met with the same result. It was just as he began contemplating knocking on the door for Mark to open it that he realized he had been using the wrong key, he was using his mail key instead of his room key. Closing his eyes, Josh let out a breathy laugh. 

 

He inserted the correct key into the keyhole and opened the door, and as he stepped into the dark room, he was met with a blow to the shoulder. 

 

He screamed, causing his attacker to scream.

 

“Who the fuck are you?! How the fuck did you get in?!”

 

“What the fuck are you  _ talking  _ about?!”

 

Josh then realized who it was. He flicked on the light switch that was next to the door.

 

“Mark, dude, it’s just me.” Josh put his hands up in defense as he glared at his friend, holding a baseball bat over his head as if ready to swing again. His shoulder began throbbing.

 

“ _ Fuck  _ dude, I’m sorry,” he lowered the bat and placed a hand over his heart, letting out a sigh of relief. “What- wh- why the fuck were you jiggling the doorknob like a fucking  _ maniac _ ?”

 

“Wrong key,” Josh mumbled, wincing as he placed a hand on his shoulder. Mark’s brows knit together in immediate concern. 

 

“I- I didn’t know you had left the room, I thought you were still- here man, let me get some ice- I thought you were still sleeping.” He walked quickly to the freezer and searched for a moment before his eyes landed on something and he smiled gratefully. He pulled out a bag of pizza rolls. Josh shook his head and laughed.

 

“It’s all good, man. I would have done the same thing,” he accepted the bag of pizza rolls and gingerly placed them on his shoulder. “Thanks.” he added. 

 

“What were you doing anyway? It’s, like, 6 in the morning. You don’t have class until 8.” Mark said. 

 

Josh sighed, memories of the dream flooding back to him once more. 

 

“Couldn’t sleep, so I went for a run,” he shrugged, hissing as pain radiated through his shoulder. “That’s gonna be bruised.” 

 

“Yeah, listen, I’m probably gonna keep saying ‘I’m sorry’ until the end of time, and it’s gonna get annoying, but I’m sorry.” he said, biting at the skin on his lower lip. 

 

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m gonna hop in the shower before class. I’m assuming you’ll be asleep again by the time I leave, so I guess I’ll see you later.” Josh said with a small smile. Mark nodded.

 

“Yeah man, see ya.” He turned and walked back toward his bed, throwing himself face down with a loud  _ creak _ of the bed.

 

Josh dug through his drawer, finding a clean pair of underwear, some jeans, and a t-shirt, and headed into the bathroom. He turned on the water to let it heat up, despite knowing that hot water was a rare occurrence in Monroe Hall. He stuck out the palm of his hand after a few minutes and sure enough, was met with icy water. He let out a frustrated breath.

 

“Okay. One, two, three-” he quickly ducked under the cold stream and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from shrieking at the unpleasant feeling of the cold water hitting his bare skin. He took a few breaths and tried to relax, but realized there was no use. He showered as quickly as he could so as to minimize his time in the cold. Although, the water did provide some relief from the aching in his shoulder. 

 

Turning off the water, he sighed, relieved to be free from the chilly water, and patted himself dry, throwing on his clothes and ruffling his curls to shake out most of the water. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, and wondered what he would look like with yellow hair. 

 

Josh had always been known for the unconventional colors he wore in his hair. However, to everyone’s surprise, he had shaved his bright pink locks off before the end of his senior year to allow for healthier hair growth (and because his mom thought it would look more “professional”). Now, with his hair grown back, he was itching to dye it again. He just needed to save up some money, and he decided that yellow would look  _ sick. _

 

He finished getting ready for school with just enough time to make himself some coffee, which he did, and he threw on a jacket and headed out to art class.

 

*

 

“Okay everyone, I know the semester is winding down, and most of you check out at about this time because of Thanksgiving break coming up,” a few chuckles came from some of the students. “But I’m going to assign a  _ small _ assignment for you all, due the Wednesday before you all leave for break.” A few people groaned at this, but Josh was excited. He was always eager to create, and even though he hadn’t been at the school for very long, he felt he had already developed a bond with the art teacher, Dr. Perry. 

 

“Now, like I said, it is going to be a small assignment, and there will be opportunity for extra credit for those of you who need it. I’m using this as a way to get some more grades in the gradebook, so you can all thank me later,” he said with a warm smile, limping over to his desk and easing himself into his seat, leaning his cane against the wall behind him. 

 

Dr. Perry was in his late 70s, with silvery white hair and wrinkles that adorned his face, only deepening when he smiled, which he did a lot. He couldn’t have been more than 5’4, and walked with a limp and with slouching shoulders, as if he had been holding the weight of the world on them since he was a young kid. He had worked at the school for 30 years as a sociology professor and, instead of retiring years ago, simply decided that he wanted to teach art because it was something he always enjoyed and appreciated. Dr. Perry, despite being such a kind and welcoming person, took no shit from anyone. Josh still remembered the when Dr. Perry introduced himself on the first day of classes.

 

He had hobbled up to the podium next to his desk, he was wearing a white button down and an obnoxious tie that was adorned with dogs and cats. The first words that came out of his mouth were:

 

“Hello, students. My name is Theodore Perry. You can call me Dr. Perry, or Theo, if you really want,” he smiled warmly at this. “I feel that I should address this first: I am a gay man. If this is something that makes you uncomfortable, or something you do not agree with, I kindly ask you to keep it to yourself. If you don’t think you can do that, feel free to leave now.” his eyes twinkled as they scanned the room, and his smile didn’t falter once. No one got up, but there were a few shocked faces, including Josh’s, who didn’t expect his professor to share such a thing on the first day. Still, it made Josh like him even more. 

 

Dr. Perry continued to explain the assignment, with very animated hand gestures and a glimmer in his eyes.

 

“We all know that beauty is relative. ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’ as they say. I want you all to draw something that, to you, exemplifies beauty. Additionally, I want your piece to include something that represents the opposite, something ugly. These are the only guidelines I will give you, because I want this to be left entirely up to your interpretation. You can use any medium and any form of inspiration, whether it be a memory, a loved one, or a dream- the possibilities are essentially endless. I look forward to seeing what you all come up with,” he clasped his hands together as he finished, and looked pointedly at Josh as he said the last bit. “I know it’s a little early, but I’ll let you guys go, because it’s Friday. Class dismissed. If anyone is interested in extra credit, please come talk to me privately.” 

 

Josh was thrilled. He knew exactly what he was going to draw. Well, half of it. He thought about the dream last night, and how looking into the eyes made him feel. He walked out of the classroom and headed back to his room. 

 

Once he reached the building, he decided to sit in the lobby and begin sketching, thinking that it might be good to get out of the room for a little. He crossed his legs on the couch and opened his sketchbook to a clean page, roughly outlining the eyes. Time passed as he continued to sketch, adding as many details as he could. He didn’t need to add this many if it was just a sketch, but he found himself getting carried away as usual. 

 

He twiddled his pencil between his thumb and index finger, and it accidentally shot out of his hand and onto the floor. He made a move to stand and pick it up, but saw a familiar black hoodie stooping down and reaching for it. The hooded boy walked over and handed the pencil back to Josh, still not looking directly at him. Josh realized he wasn’t avoiding his gaze as he seemed to be last time, but was rather staring at Josh’s sketch. 

“That looks sick, man,” he looked up, his eyes meeting Josh’s. 

 

Josh nearly choked.

 

Golden, honey-colored eyes glistened back at him, little crinkles forming at the corners as the boy smirked.

 

*


	2. (Not) Just A Coincidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh sat in stunned silence for a few minutes.
> 
> That was a coincidence. That had to be a coincidence.
> 
> He refused to believe that he had been dreaming about Tyler Joseph’s golden-brown eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a couple of things for this chapter:  
> 1\. There are a couple flashbacks (which I'm sorry for but it gives some background)  
> 2\. One of the flashbacks is Josh coming out to his mom and she doesn't exactly take it well (no violence or homophobia or anything, but I just wanted to make sure you guys knew in case it hit home a little too hard for some)  
> I'm so happy I even got any feedback at all for the first chapter, I was so excited that I wanted to post the next one today! Thanks to those who gave me kudos, and for the nice comment, I hope you guys stick with me on this journey as I continue writing this fic!

He did know who this kid was. He was in his art class, he had seen him sitting in the second row of seats on the first day but paid him no attention after that. He also remembered him from high school, mostly the fact that he had missed so much of it for God knows what reason. And that he had always been pretty kind to Josh whenever they did bump into each other. 

 

Tyler Joseph.

 

Josh’s head swam, and he wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t actually still in a dream.

 

“Tyler,” he breathed, stupidly. 

 

The boy raised an eyebrow quizzically and his smile widened a little.

 

There was no mistaking those eyes. Although, despite his smile, there was a sadness in these that Josh did not recognize from his dreams.

 

“Uh, yeah. I’m surprised you know who I am.” he said.

 

_ You know who I am You know who I am You know who I am _

 

The words repeated themselves on a loop inside his head and he felt dizzy. Of course he remembered Tyler. They had met freshman year, when-

 

“You’re Joshua, right?”

 

“Just- yeah- uh- Josh. Just Josh is fine.” Josh stuttered, still in a mild state of something like shock. 

 

“Okay,  _ Just Josh _ ,” Tyler said, laughing a little at his own cleverness. “I’ll see you around, I guess.” he started to walk away and Josh unclenched his jaw, not realizing he had been gritting his teeth. “Oh! And by the way,” Josh jumped at the sudden exclamation, and looked up to find Tyler turned back towards him. “I’m sorry again about running into you in the hallway this morning. I don’t know what was up with me.” and with that, he turned the corner and was gone. 

 

Josh sat in stunned silence for a few minutes.

 

_ That was a coincidence. That had to be a coincidence.  _

 

He refused to believe that he had been dreaming about Tyler Joseph’s golden-brown eyes. He barely knew the kid. Well, actually, it wasn’t like he was a  _ complete _ stranger or anything. Tyler was one of two people who didn’t go out of their way to be an asshole to Josh throughout high school, the other one being Debby. Actually, he was always pretty nice to him. For whatever reason, people didn’t seem to like Josh. He was always labelled as the weird kid, and people usually avoided him. It all sounded like a terrible high school cliche, but it was true.

 

-

 

_ Josh walked briskly through the halls of the school, which were mostly empty except for a few people still lagging behind. He was helping the art department prepare for the showcase tonight, and was being sent back and forth to get finished canvases from the art rooms to the gym across campus. He had a particularly large stack of canvases in his hand as he walked, when he was suddenly slammed into by someone he didn’t recognize. The canvases were sent tumbling to the floor. _

 

_ “Sorry man, watch out next time.” the voice said. A group of guys walked by and snickered, one of them stepping on the corner of one of the canvases. He walked over to it and picked it up gently, looking at the name signed on the bottom in bold black letters: _

 

**TYLER R. JOSEPH**

 

_ Josh admired the painting, which was unlike many of the others he had seen students do. They mostly did flowers and landscapes, whereas this piece looked almost like a portrait of someone. It was interesting. There was no distinct facial features, but Josh could just make out eyes, lips, and a nose. The only colors used were red, black, and some grey, but the painting somehow screamed at him. He flipped it over to see what was written in fading pencil at the top: _

 

“BLURRYFACE”

 

_ Interesting name.  _

 

_ He turned to look at the scattered canvases on the floor and sighed.  _

 

_ “Hey, you need some help?” he looked up and saw a familiar face. _

 

_ “Sorry, you probably don’t know me, I’m Tyler Joseph.” he said with a small smile, reaching his hand out to shake Josh’s. Josh looked down at the painting in his hands. _

 

_ “I’m Joshua Dun. Is this yours?” he asked, nodding his chin toward the painting. “It’s really great.” _

 

_ Tyler blushed fiercely and looked at his shoes. It made Josh’s heart flutter, but he didn’t know why. _

 

_ “Yeah. You really think so? I mean, you don’t have to-” _

 

_ “No, really, it is. I’ve never seen anyone paint like this. It’s different, but, like, in the best way.” Josh said, nodding approvingly.  _

 

_ “Thanks.” he looked up at Josh once more, smiling, crinkles forming at the corners of his eyes which, Josh noticed, were a pretty brown color.  _

 

_ Not that it mattered.  _

 

_ “Alright, I guess we should pick these up.” Tyler said, kneeling down to collect the strewn canvases.  _

 

-

 

Josh chewed on his bottom lip, remembering that incident. That was one of the only full conversations he had ever had with Tyler throughout their four years of high school, the only other times they acknowledged each other being when they met each other’s gaze by accident and shot each other a quick greeting smile. 

 

Even then, he thought, he had noticed his eyes. 

 

_ No, come on Josh, you like girls.  _

 

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a sharp pang in his chest as he remembered having a similar conversation with his mother years ago. 

 

-

 

_ “Honey...what are you saying?” Josh’s mother asked, worry on her face. Josh was shaking. _

 

_ “I think- I think I like guys, mom. Like, I think I’m gay. Or bisexual, or-” _

 

_ “Oh, Josh, sweetie,” his mom walked quickly toward him and put his face in her hands. “You’re so young, still too young to be thinking about things like this. Why don’t you go to sleep and see how you feel in the morning?”  _

 

_ “Mom, I don’t think this is something I can sleep off-” _

 

_ “Josh, honey, come on. You like girls. You’ve always liked girls. Just- you’re so young.” she repeated. Josh’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “Why don’t you go to sleep, like I said, and-” _

 

_ “You know, mom, you’re right. I must just be tired, or- uh- something. Not thinking clearly.” he fought back tears and cleared his throat, straightening up a little. “Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said with a dry chuckle, trying to convince himself more than anything else. His mom smiled and patted his shoulder.  _

 

_ “Of course, dear. Do you want some soup?” she offered.  _

 

_ “Sure, mom.”  _

 

-

 

Josh had been so lost in thought that he didn’t realize tears had been silently falling from his eyes and onto his sketchbook. Some of the lines were smeared. He sniffled and wiped at his cheeks, looking around to make sure no one had seen the spontaneous waterworks. There was a girl working at the front desk, but she seemed to be paying no attention to him anyway. He quickly collected his things and headed back to his room. 

 

Josh quietly stepped into the room so as not to wake Mark, but was surprised to find him sitting up in bed on his laptop. 

 

“Hey,” Josh said, although it came out hoarse. Mark looked up from the screen for a brief moment to acknowledge Josh.

 

“‘Sup,” he said. 

 

Even though he had only had one class that day, and it was barely 10 in the morning, Josh felt drained. He figured he should blame it on the fact that he had been up since practically 5 that morning, and decided it might be a good idea to take a nap. He collapsed on top of his comforter and closed his eyes, feeling waves of sleep wash over him immediately. 

 

Then, he was dreaming. 

 

When he opened his eyes, he was met with a pair staring back at him. It was the same pair of eyes, but as he looked deeper he could tell something wasn’t right. These eyes were red-rimmed, glossy from tears, and much like he had seen in Tyler’s eyes in the lobby, there was sadness and longing. 

 

_ Tyler?  _

 

The eyes crinkled again, as if smiling, but they held their sadness. A single tear escaped and trailed down his nose. Josh reached over and brushed it away. 

 

_ Why am I dreaming about you?  _

 

The crinkles in the eyes disappeared, and the eyes closed softly. When they opened, to Josh’s horror, the eyes were no longer there. Instead were two vacant spots where the eyes should have been, like black holes. 

 

_ Josh _

 

The voice was Tyler’s but at the same time it wasn’t. It was distorted, and sounded almost distant. Josh couldn’t look away from the eyeholes, as terrified as he was. They seemed to be growing larger the longer he looked at them. 

 

Then it got exponentially worse. 

 

Josh blinked once, twice, and the face was suddenly in full view, but it definitely wasn’t Tyler. There were no distinct features on this face, but he could just barely make out the nose and mouth, along with the two eye sockets. Josh couldn’t move. He was paralyzed. He tried to scream and thrash but he couldn’t.

 

_ Josh _

 

The voice said again, sounding even more distorted and horrifying, like a mixture between a far away, high-pitched scream and a gurgle. Josh felt himself shaking. The mouth did not move as it said his name, it just hung open. 

 

It grew wider.

 

_ JOSH! _

 

A shrill screech emitted from the mouth, and a deep red began pouring from the eyes. The face seemed to be vibrating. Josh felt hands around his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter, he couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t call out for help. The hands kept squeezing and the mouth and eyes kept growing, pouring red. Josh was suffocating. 

 

Josh woke up, thrashing and kicking and screaming. He sat up, heaving his chest with each breath, soaked with sweat. 

 

“Dude, are you okay?” 

 

He looked over to see Mark standing next to him, eyes widened in fear. 

 

“I tried calling your name but you just kept making this weird noise and kicking your legs- and you kept saying ‘Tyler,’ I didn’t want to touch you in case you knocked me out or something.” he said, resting a hand on Josh’s shoulder. Josh placed a hand over his heart, willing it to slow down. He was breathing heavily, and his throat felt tight, like he was about to cry. 

“It’s all good man, it was just a nightmare.” Mark said, trying his best to calm Josh down. Josh appreciated how caring Mark was. 

 

“Yeah, thanks.” Josh said quietly. He thought for a moment. “How did your parents take it when you told them you were gay?” 

 

Mark looked slightly taken aback.

 

“Uh, they weren’t exactly thrilled, I guess,” he started. “But they eventually accepted it. Why?” he asked, obviously confused at the sudden, unrelated question. Josh sighed. 

 

“Just wondering,” he said. 

 

There were a few seconds of silence between them. 

 

“Are you- I mean, do you think you’re gay?” Mark asked gently. Josh sighed again, and with the release of air came quick, hot tears. “Woah, uh, it’s okay if you are man. Obviously I’m not gonna judge you. Is it your parents? Honestly, if you’re afraid of telling them, it’s not that bad. It is at first but once you get it off your chest-”

 

“I tried- to tell my mom- and she- wouldn’t- she,” Josh hiccupped violently between each word, struggling to get out a coherent sentence, all of his emotions catching up to him. He hadn’t cried this hard in a long time. 

 

“Slow down dude, take your time,” Mark sat at the edge of his bed and squeezed Josh’s uninjured shoulder encouragingly. Josh took a few deep breaths. 

 

“I tried to tell my mom years ago,” the thought of the memory caused tears to well up in his eyes once again. “She told me I was too young to decide something like that. Then she basically told me to sleep it off and see how I felt in the morning. I just dropped it after that.” A sympathetic look crossed Mark’s face.

 

“Josh, I’m so sorry,” he said, and Josh could tell he meant it. “I know what it’s like to not feel accepted by your own parents. Except, I guess I can’t say I’ve felt it to the extent of what you must be feeling. I know it’s none of my business, but I think you need to try telling her again, and I mean really telling her. Don’t let her brush it off.” 

 

Josh shuddered at the thought of having this conversation again. 

 

Mark added, “I’m not saying it needs to happen now, but whenever you feel ready, you should do it, dude.” Josh nodded at this. Mark was right. Then, Mark raised an eyebrow and smirked.

 

“Who’s Tyler?”

 

Josh felt his face burn. 

 

“No one.” he said, too quickly. Mark’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline at Josh’s abrupt response. 

 

“Oh, okay. Gotcha.” he said, not pushing the subject any further. Josh could still see a small smile on his lips as he walked away and got back to work at his laptop. Josh flopped back onto his bed and gazed at the ceiling. 

 

_ Okay, maybe it wasn't a coincidence. _

 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy I even got any feedback at all for the first chapter, I was so excited that I wanted to post the next one today! Thanks to those who gave me kudos, and for the nice comment, I hope you guys stick with me on this journey as I continue writing this fic! Please, keep commenting and letting me know how you guys feel, I really appreciate it! (Also sorry this one is short again oops)


	3. Desperate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he opened his door, he was met with a strange, yet familiar sight.
> 
> A pair of honey-colored eyes staring back, wide and panicked.

Tyler stared at the empty sketchbook page in his lap, thinking. Normally, he had no problem coming up with ideas for art projects but for some reason, he was drawing a blank on this particular piece. At the moment, nothing in Tyler’s life felt like it could be beautiful. Even his dreams left him jolting awake and gasping for air on the nights that he had any dreams at all.

 

He recalled a dream he had before the semester had started, trapped in a burning treehouse. His childhood treehouse. The dream had felt so _real_. He remembered the way his eyes stung, and the way the smoke infiltrated his lungs and left him choking. He remembered looking into the corner of the treehouse and seeing himself, a lighter in one hand and a gallon of gasoline in the other. He heard voices.

 

_Jump_

 

_It’s the only way out_

 

Tyler vaguely remembered clambering out of the window, sitting on the edge and looking down. He could not see where the bottom was. He flattened his feet against the side of the treehouse and gave a strong push, propelling himself from the window and falling down, down.

 

He woke up screaming.

 

His mother came in, mouth downturned (although he rarely saw much of a smile these days anyway) and the lines in her forehead deepened with worry. She sat with him and rubbed his back. Tyler had never felt more like a child.

 

He shook his head, as if he was shaking the thought out of his mind. He thought some more about the project, absently doodling on the page he had open.

 

“Treehouse,” he mumbled to himself. He figured that wasn’t a bad idea- the treehouse in his dreams was the treehouse his dad had built him, long ago. It brought beautiful memories back of him and his siblings sitting up there, giggling, hiding from their parents. The rest of the world didn’t exist. The treehouse was their world. A time before responsibility and bills and before his mom-

 

Tyler stopped himself, not wanting to think about the downward spiral his life had been on in the past few years. He began very roughly sketching the outline of the treehouse. He thought hard for a few moments. The image of the treehouse in his memories had faded significantly. He wondered if he had a picture of it somewhere so he could use it as a reference.

 

Setting his sketchbook to the side, Tyler rose from his spot on the bed and crouched down, pulling a shoebox out from underneath. He removed the cover of the box and began thumbing through family photos. He smiled and held one up of him and his sister, Madison. The image was of the two dancing, his arm around his younger sister’s back and their hands clasped tightly, waltzing toward the camera. Tyler chuckled at his own awkward smile, and at the way his sister stared at the camera.

 

He went through a few more hilarious ones, where he and his brothers were making stupid faces at the camera, moments in time frozen forever. Moments he would never get back but that he could still hold in his hands and call to memory whenever he pleased. His smile faltered as he held a photo up. It was his entire family on Christmas morning. They were all standing in front of the tree, donning pajamas and bright smiles. He couldn’t remember exactly how old he had been, but he knew this was taken a few years before he was told the Worst News of His Life.

 

-

 

_“Tyler, family photo!” his mom called out to him. He sighed, gazing longingly at the presents underneath the tree. He reluctantly pulled himself away and stood with his family, in front of the tree. “Zack, Madison, come here! Zack- please, we’ll open presents in a minute-” his mother gave an exasperated sigh and glared at his brother, Zack, who crossed his arms and pouted his lip, but came over anyway. Tyler looked at his grandfather behind the camera, ready to snap the photo._

 

_“Okay, on three, everyone say ‘Christmas cookies,’” he said, “One...two...three!”_

 

_The entire family cheerfully intoned the phrase. Even Tyler’s baby brother, Jay, babbled excitedly as the flash went off and the photo was taken._

 

_“Present time!” Madison exclaimed. His mother and father laughed and stared lovingly at each other, his father squeezing his mother’s hand as they all sat around the tree and began tearing into the wrapping paper. Except for Tyler, who gently peeled back the tape and folded the paper in a pile next to him as he opened each present._

 

-

 

As he thought about this moment, tears began to prickle at his eyes and his throat tightened. He refused to let himself cry, because he had been crying far too much lately. He squeezed his eyes shut and forced the tears away. After a few moments had passed, he continued searching through the pile of photos for a picture of the treehouse. He found nothing and groaned, replacing the cover and sliding the box back under his bed.

 

He returned to his spot and situated the sketchbook back onto his lap, thinking some more. He could always just draw the treehouse to the best of his ability, and make up the details along the way. It felt wrong, but at the moment he couldn’t think of a better idea. Reluctantly, he moved forward with the sketch, adding in small details he knew were not a part of it. After he was finished, he set it down and looked at it.

 

He didn’t like it, but he didn’t hate it. He squinted his eyes, the drawing becoming a blur through his eyelashes. It didn’t look like it was supposed to look, he thought, opening his eyes back up and sighing. He leaned back against the headboard, not feeling up to doing anymore work today. He tried to think of something else to do but nothing seemed interesting at the moment. It wasn’t barely lunchtime, and Tyler was already _bored_.

 

He didn’t exactly have any friends to hang out with. His only friend, Gerard, had moved and gone to school in Washington. Tyler decided to try calling Gerard to have someone to talk to at the least, but he was sent straight to voicemail. After five miserable minutes had crawled by, Tyler decided to go for a walk around the halls. Eager to leave the confinement of the tiny room, he grabbed his keys and phone, slid on some sandals, and slipped out the door.

 

Tyler walked calmly through the halls of the building, immersed in thought. Many of the students had decorated their doors for the holidays with string lights, bows, and signs. His favorite was the door that was covered from top to bottom in Christmas wrapping paper with a bow stuck directly in the middle. He walked past a door that was undecorated, but still seemed vaguely familiar to him. Then, it hit him like a brick. He remembered running into someone outside this door while he was on one of his early morning panic-walks. He recalled tears streaming down his face, not being able to see who he had run into but keeping his head low so as not to bring attention to his red, teary face. He recognized the voice, though. The thought of it sent chills down his spine. This was _his_ door.

 

Would it be weird if Tyler knocked? Probably. What would he even say?

 

_Hi, I was taking a walk, and remembered running into you this morning in this very spot, so I decided to knock on your door because…_

 

Because why?

 

_...I think you’re freaking beautiful and I’ve thought you were beautiful since the moment I saw you holding my painting freshman year, and I would do anything just to catch a glimpse of your face again even if it meant swallowing my pride and knocking on your door randomly. Even if it meant it would be super awkward. Even if it meant you would be weirded out and you would slam the door in my face._

 

Too desperate? Probably. Tyler sighed.

 

_I can’t believe I’m doing this._

 

He took a few steps toward the door and lifted his fist, but before his knuckles could make contact, the door opened.

 

*

 

After staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours (even though it had only been five minutes), Josh sat up, realizing how bored he was. He fished his laptop out of his backpack and opened up Netflix, looking through the selection of movies and shows before deciding on watching _Friends_. He had already watched the series twice, but to him, it never got old. It was one of those things that Josh felt he could watch a million times, and he would still love it just as much as the first time.

 

The theme song came on and he sang along, earning a glare from Mark.

 

“You’re watching that again?” he said incredulously. “I thought you said you’ve seen it, like, five times already,” he added.

 

“It never gets old, man. It’s just one of those things,” Josh responded with a smile. “And hey, I’ve only seen it twice.” Mark chuckled at this and rolled his eyes, going back to working on his laptop.

 

“Just try and keep the singing to a minimum. I have a paper due tonight at midnight and it’s kind of hard to bullshit a paper when you’re singing theme songs to shows from the 90s.” he said.

 

“No promises,” Josh replied in a sing-song voice.

 

Josh watched two episodes, and was about to play the third, when his stomach growled loudly. Pizza sounded pretty good right now. He looked up at Mark only to see that he had fallen asleep with his laptop in his lap and the drawstrings of his hoodie pulled tightly around his face. Josh walked over and gently moved the laptop from Mark’s lap, closing it and setting it on his bedside table. He figured he would just get a pizza, and Mark could eat when he woke up. Josh wrote a note on the fridge to let Mark know where he would be. With that, Josh grabbed his wallet and his phone and headed toward the door.

 

When he opened his door, he was met with a strange, yet familiar sight.

 

A pair of honey-colored eyes staring back, wide and panicked.

 

*

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of Tyler's POV for this *very* short chapter. It was a lot of filler and I've been struggling with what to write and when to write it because I'm a college student and life gets busy sometimes! I'll probably keep alternating between Josh and Tyler's POV, but focusing on Josh for the most part!


	4. Sweet Creature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joshua.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Tyler liked that name, he decided, better than just “Josh.” He imagined it rolling off of his tongue and smiled softly.

Tyler felt his eyes grow wide and he froze in place, knuckles still raised and jaw almost dropping in shock. He could feel his face burning intensely as the questioning gaze of the curly-haired boy standing before him burned through every cell in is body, and Tyler wished the floor would swallow him whole in that very moment. He realized his hand was still raised, as if he was getting ready to knock on the door, and he lowered it slowly, eyes flickering nervously from the floor to Josh.

 

“Uh, hey, Tyler,” Josh said, clearly uncomfortable and unsure what to do or say. Tyler couldn’t blame him. He shifted nervously from one foot to the other, trying not to make it obvious that he was  _ relishing _ this moment, despite its awkwardness. He was a mere foot away from Josh, inches really, and in spite of his nerves, he drank in the sight of this boy he had been obsessing over for years.

 

“Hi,” Tyler responded, a bit breathless. He would have had more time to compose himself had Josh not opened the door before he had a chance to knock. It was unlike Tyler to be so taken aback, he felt that normally he could keep his composure fairly well. However, the unexpected nature of the entire situation threw all logic and equanimity out the window, along with Tyler’s dignity. 

 

“Can I help you with something?” Josh broke the uncomfortable silence, confusion lacing his tone and deep, beautiful eyes searching Tyler’s own. Tyler didn’t know what to say. This was exactly what he was afraid of. Why had he decided to do this anyway? What had come over him? They had two interactions in one day, seemingly uneventful ones, and, what, Tyler just thought he could waltz up to Josh’s door like they were best buds? The next words that came out of Tyler’s mouth were completely beyond his control, and he had to attribute it to the panic he felt after being put on the spot for randomly showing up here. To add to his embarrassment, the words came out jumbled and fast.

 

“Iwasjustwonderingif- uh- you wanted to, like, getsomethingtoeatmaybe?” 

 

The lines between the curly-haired boy’s forehead deepened as he attempted to make sense of what Tyler just spat at him. Tyler was mortified. He searched his eyes for absolutely any hint of an answer, and braced himself for rejection. 

 

“I was actually just heading out for pizza. You’re totally welcome to join.” he said, a friendly smile playing on his lips which, Tyler noticed, were even more tempting up close. Tyler forced himself to look at his almond-shaped eyes, and smiled back weakly. 

 

“Cool,” he said, refusing to say anything more for fear of embarrassing himself any more than he already had. He could tell the boy was still confused at Tyler’s unannounced appearance at his door in the middle of the day, and he was just trying to be polite. Tyler instantly felt stupid for putting him in such an uncomfortable position.

 

_ Of course he agreed. He just didn’t want to be rude.  _

 

Josh locked his door while Tyler stood awkwardly beside him, fiddling with the hem of his shirt and trying to look absolutely  _ anywhere _ else to avoid staring at the beautiful being before him for too long. He allowed himself to steal a few glances, though, admiring the fluffy, coffee-colored curls sitting atop Josh’s head, and the way the sharp and intense features of his face contrasted with the warmth of his eyes and the softness of his voice. Tyler almost sighed aloud at the thought, unable to keep himself from imagining what Josh would sound like singing. Despite only having had a few short conversations with Josh (if one could even call them conversations), he was almost sure that it would be the most angelic sound to ever grace his ears. 

 

“Ready to go?” Josh’s voice yanked Tyler from his daydream, and he nodded. 

 

The two began walking toward the exit of the building in silence, and Tyler silently willed himself to say something,  _ anything _ , so as to make this situation less awkward. He simply couldn’t bring himself to do it, and it wasn’t until the two walked out into the brisk air that the silence was broken by Josh. 

 

“So, it was you who ran into me this morning? I thought I recognized your voice,” he said. Tyler looked at him as he said this, noticing the pained look on Josh’s face, as if he were silently reprimanding himself for admitting that he had recognized Tyler’s voice, of all things. 

 

“Yeah,” Tyler said softly, thankful for the conversation starter. “I didn’t expect anyone else to be up and walking around at that time, so I guess I just wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going. I’m really sorry,” he added. Josh shrugged.

 

“S’okay, no damage done,” he seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment. “Well, except for my phone.”

 

“ _ I broke your phone _ ?” Tyler gritted his teeth at the high-pitched tone his voice took on, practically squeaking at Josh. Josh seemed shocked at Tyler’s sudden outburst, snapping his head around to look at him. Tyler’s face was on fire. He turned slowly as he heard Josh laughing, and Tyler swore it sounded like little bells. He had thrown his head back, revealing the smooth, pale skin of his neck. Tyler took this moment to stare, and to listen to the sounds of Josh’s heavenly laughter, which he realized he was hearing for the first time. His shoulders shook and his lips stretched across a set of glorious, pearly teeth. The sight made Tyler smile. He urged himself to look away, worried that Josh would think he was a weirdo if he caught him staring (that is, if he didn’t already think that). 

 

“No, not broken, just a little crack in the corner. Nothing terrible,” he said reassuringly, after having composed himself. Tyler breathed a sigh of relief.

 

“Okay, good.” 

 

The awkwardness that had hung in the air had seemed to dissipate slightly, and they continued walking in a more comfortable silence, Tyler looking straight forward so as not to seem like a creep for staring at the heavenly being walking beside him. However, he was compelled to turn and face him when he felt a pair of eyes boring into the side of his face. 

 

“Were you crying this morning? After we- uh- ran into each other?” Josh said, his eyes now pools of worry. Tyler stayed silent for a moment, wondering what to say to him. “I mean, did I hurt you or anything? You fell pretty hard, and I got worried that maybe-”

 

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I wasn’t hurt, honest,” Tyler quickly cut him off, shaking his head. The smile returned to Josh’s face, relief flooding across his eyes. 

 

“Good,” he breathed. He looked forward and, thankfully, didn’t press the issue any further. 

 

They finally made it to the pizza place on campus and to Tyler’s horror, he realized he forgot his wallet in the room. He mentally slapped his own forehead as they walked up to the counter. Josh ordered a pizza for himself and stepped aside for Tyler to order, and Tyler just shook his head. 

 

“Yeah, uh, I’m not that hungry,” he said, even though the smell of the pizza made his stomach growl. Josh raised an eyebrow. 

 

“You were about to knock on my door and invite me to get food with you even though you aren’t that hungry?” he said, chuckling. Tyler scoffed.

 

“What, we can’t just enjoy each other’s company?” Tyler winced as he said it, and once again wished the floor would swallow him whole. Josh laughed his heavenly laugh at Tyler’s comment, and shrugged. 

 

“That’s true,” he admitted. Tyler was just thankful that Josh was such a nice person, even though he was sure that his first real impression of Tyler was that he was some weird, awkward kid who couldn’t hold a normal conversation. Honestly, Tyler was surprised he hadn’t scared Josh away yet. The two sat across from each other at a booth while they waited for Josh’s name to be called, and not staring at the beautiful, ethereal being sitting in front of him proved to be that much more difficult for Tyler. He stared at the door, watching people walk in and out of the restaurant. When he turned back, he unwillingly let his gaze fall onto Josh’s face, only to find that the boy was already staring at him. Josh quickly directed his gaze to somewhere behind Tyler, and cleared his throat. Tyler did the same, focusing once more on the door. He could have  _ sworn _ that there was a blush creeping onto Josh’s face, but he didn’t dare to look at him again. 

 

“Joshua!” the cashier called out his name, and he stood up to get the pizza. Tyler watched him as he rose and walked to the register, admiring the gracefulness of his movements. 

 

_ Joshua.  _

 

Tyler liked that name, he decided, better than just “Josh.” He imagined it rolling off of his tongue and smiled softly. He let his imagination wander.

 

-

 

_ “Joshua!” _

 

_ Tyler groaned, but could not suppress the giggle that escaped his lips. He watched as the beautiful, graceful, heavenly creature sitting across from him messily licked the side of an ice cream cone, strawberry-flavored sauce running down his chin. Tyler reached out with his hand and wiped at the mess with his thumb, popping it back into his own mouth and savoring the fresh, fruity taste. He looked across at his beautiful boy, and saw a mischievous glint in his eyes.  _

 

_ Tyler gasped as the ice cream cone collided with his forehead, feeling Josh slide it slowly down the bridge of his nose. Sticky-sweet cream covering his face, his boy’s soft, twinkling laugh ringing in his ears. Tyler feigned anger, but the two both knew he could never be angry at Joshua. He was his beautiful boy, his sweet creature.  _

 

_ “Joshua Dun, you are so going to get it!”  _

 

_ Soft, tender kisses and gentle laughter. Bumping noses, both faces now covered in sticky, strawberry-flavored ice cream.  _

 

-

 

“Tyler?”

 

“Hm?” Tyler was pulled from his daydream, staring into the eyes of the creature of his fantasy. He suddenly became very aware of how dopey his face must have looked, and he cleared his throat. 

 

“You zoned out, dude, just making sure you were still with us-” 

 

“Yeah, just thinking,” Tyler cut him off quickly. Josh gave him a slightly puzzled look, but asked no further questions, taking his place across from Tyler and setting the pizza between them. He pulled a piece out and Tyler’s stomach growled as he watched Josh take a bite of the steaming, cheesy dish. Josh looked up at Tyler.

 

“Are you sure you don’t wanna get something?” he asked, and Tyler tried to ignore the way he looked when he licked pizza sauce off of his lips. He shrugged.

 

“S’fine,” he paused before admitting, “I forgot my wallet in my room anyway-”

 

“Dude, why didn’t you say so? I would have bought you something,” he said, “Take one.” he pushed the box toward Tyler, insisting that he eat something even after Tyler politely refused. 

 

“Thank you,” Tyler mumbled, gratefully taking a slice and blowing on it gently to cool it before taking a bite. There was a long moment of silence between the two as they ate, and Tyler was both grateful for it because he had less opportunity to make a fool of himself, but also wished he could bring himself to talk about  _ something _ . 

 

“How’s your art project going?” he finally managed to ask. Josh shrugged.

 

“It’s going well. I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to do for the ‘ugly’ aspect,” he said, scrunching his face up in thought. 

 

“Yeah, neither do I,” Tyler agreed. He thought for a moment, trying to remember what Josh had been drawing during their second encounter of the day. “Those eyes you were drawing, those were for the project, right? Whose were they?” the boy’s jaw tensed at the question, obviously feeling uncomfortable.

 

“Just- um, I saw them in a dream I had.” he said slowly. Tyler watched his face, noticing that it  _ definitely  _ turned a light shade of pink as he said this. 

 

“Can I see it?” Tyler asked, not even realizing how weird he must have sounded. 

 

“I would say yes, but my sketchbook is back in my room,” he said, seemingly unfazed by the question. Tyler nodded in understanding, and finished the last couple bites of his pizza slice. “What are you doing for the project?” Josh added.

 

“Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t usually have a problem with coming up with ideas for these projects but this one got me for sure. I started sketching out a childhood treehouse that my dad built, but I can’t even really remember what it looks like. It doesn’t look right. I might just trash it.” Tyler ranted. 

 

“I’m sure it isn’t that bad,” Josh said. What he said next nearly caused Tyler to fall out of his chair, and he almost pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming:

 

“If you want, you can come over for a little and we can bounce some ideas off of each other. I know it isn’t exactly meant to be collaborative, but, oh well,” 

 

Tyler just stared at him, stupidly. Of course, it was nothing. It meant nothing. Josh was just being polite again, and it was nothing. Still, Tyler couldn’t help but get excited at the idea. 

 

“T-that would be great!” Tyler mentally cursed at himself for stuttering like an idiot, but that was wiped away when he saw the smile painted across Josh’s face, almost as if he was relieved. 

 

*

 

_ Whatthefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck _

 

Josh couldn’t believe Tyler had actually  _ agreed  _ to coming over. He had half-expected him to laugh in his face and leave, taking Josh's dignity right along with him. The look on Tyler’s face after Josh had asked was pure disbelief, and he was almost sure he was going to be let down right then and there. However, to his surprise, Tyler had agreed, and it seemed like he was  _ excited _ .

 

Well, maybe saying he was excited would be pushing it just a little. He pulled his phone out and shot Mark a quick text. 

 

**A classmate is coming over to work on a project just wanted to let u kno. (Delivered 12:35 PM)**

 

He stuffed his phone into his pocket, but felt it vibrate instantly.

 

**I won’t be in the room. Have some errands to run. (Delivered 12:35 PM)**

 

Josh panicked a bit at the thought of being alone in the same room as the person who unknowingly haunted his dreams, and he almost wished Mark would be in there with them. He was in the middle of wondering if he should just tell Tyler something came up, and invite him over another time, when Tyler stood up from the booth and stretched his arms. His hoodie lifted slightly, revealing a sliver of tanned skin which Josh definitely  _ did not _ look at.  

 

“Ready to go?” he asked. Josh nodded.

 

There was no getting out of this now.

 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow their first actual real interaction, i'm excited to keep writing this because there are so many ways I could take it. i hope it's being received well! i feel like this fic is my baby and it gives me so much purpose and it just makes me so happy, ahh, anyway, i hope you are enjoying it so far! i know it seems super slow but those are always my favorite kind of fics, i love the build-up!!! i promise it will be worth it in the end bc i have got lots of cute fluff in store!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Joshler fic that I've written! If I get good feedback I'll continue to write, but this is just kind of a test chapter as of now! That's also why it is kind of short. Hopefully, if I continue writing, the chapters will be much longer. :)


End file.
